In 755 Tride Tsuktsän was killed by the ministers Lang and ‘Bal. Then Tagdra Lukong (Stag-sgra Klu-khong) presented evidence to prince Song Detsän (Srong-lde-brtsan) that they were disloyal and causing dissension in the country, and were about to injure him also. Subsequently, Lang and ‘Bal really did revolt. They were killed by the army and their property was confiscated."[11]

It is very unclear, however, from the sources exactly what happened after the death of Tridu Songtsen. According to the Tibetan Annals, "he who would be crowned king" (i.e. Mes-ag-tshoms?) was born in the spring of 704, just a few months before his father died.

The Tang Annals report that in 722 the Tibetans attacked Gilgit (Tib. Bru-sha) which implies they had already gained control of Ladakh and Baltistan through which they would have had to pass.
Not really, Tibetans could have gone through taglokan region and attacked Gilgit without needing to take Baltistan and Ladakh. Actually, even the paths and trade routes through Shaksgham and through Baltistan are present so ladakh may not even be remotely involved.
[24][25]

In 727 the king left to take control of the government of the 'Azha in hand. He then seized the important Chinese fortress of Kva-cu or Guazhou at (Anxi), to the southeast of Dunhuang, which contained supplies for all the Chinese-dominated territories as far as the Western Turks (Dru-gu) to the north and the Tazig (Arabs) to the west, and all this wealth fell into the hands of the Tibetans so that even ordinary Tibetans had fine Chinese silks to dress up in.[21][26] However, the Chinese managed to drive the Tibetans away in 728, after a siege of eighty-days.[27]

In 730 a peace treaty with China was signed which established the border east of Kokonor at the Chiling Pass in the Red Hills. In 733 Mes-ag-tshoms wrote to the ChineseemperorXuanzong (r. 712-756) stating that China and Tibet were equally great kingdoms and hoping that peace would endure.
In 734 a pillar engraved with the treaty was erected, and although it was apparently torn down soon after, envoys travelled regularly between the Lhasa and Chang'an for the next fifteen years.[28]

In 738 the 'Nine Loops of the Huang Ho', which had been given to Tibet as part of a dowry, were retaken by the Chinese.

In 740, the Chinese also regained control of the key fortress at Anrong, just north of Chengdu, which the Tibetans had held for over sixty years. In 742 the Chinese also managed to recapture the formidable fortress of Shipu, near the border in the Red Hills.[27]

In 747 the Chinese, under command of the Korean general, Gao Xianzhi, fought the Tibetans and forced them to leave the region.[23]

Also in 751, Kag-la-bon (r. 748-779), the ruler of 'Jang (Nanzhao) in Yunnan, came to pay his respects to Mes-ag-tshoms. In 753 Mes-ag-tshoms sent him a golden diplomatic seal and in 754 and 756, Tibetan armies were sent to help the Nanzhao fight off the Chinese.[30]

Just prior to Mes-ag-tshoms' accession, in 703, the Tang Annals record that, "the subject countries in the south, such as Nepal and others, all revolted."[31] The rebellion was put down quickly as the Tibetan Annals state that in 705, "the scion prince was crowned king and the grandmother Khri-ma-lod died at Drong"; that some rebels were put to death, and that "at Pong lag-rang, the elder prince was deposed from the throne"[32] Mes-ag-tshoms spent the summers of 707-712, 718, 719, 722 and 723 in Bal.[33][34]

Mes-ag-tshoms was apparently murdered in a palace revolt sponsored by two ministers in 755, as the pillar erected later at Zhol in front of the Potala states. He was followed by his famous pro-Buddhist son, Trisong Detsen.[37][38]

↑Beckwith, Christopher I. 1987. The Tibetan Empire in Central Asia: A History of the Struggle for Great Power among Tibetans, Turks, Arabs, and Chinese during the Early Middle Ages. Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-02469-3, pp. 69-70.

Hill, John E. "Notes on the Dating of Khotanese History." Indo-Iranian Journal, Vol. 13, No. 3 July 1988. To purchase this article see: [1]. An updated version of this article is available for free download (with registration) at: [2]